GOD SHINES FORTH:
How the nature of God shapes and drives the
mission of the church
By Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves
Crossway. 176 pages. £16.99
ISBN 978 1 433 575 143
There is a tendency in me to see evangelism as the guilty part of ministry that I know I should do. Should not I be out and about telling everyone the good news?
God Shines Forth aims to show that the primary driver in mission is a full God who overflows with love and is willing to empty Himself for us. Packed through with quotations from Sibbes, Edwards and Lewis, God Shines Forth feels like it has some heft behind it.
It is a book which is full of richness to agree with. It feels like it is a book in the line of Gentle and Lowly as the cover indicates. However, while it is rich in answers it is not as astute in penetrating to the problem. It is like the doctor who knows the medicine but has a fairly superficial view of the disease.
The problem in our church is not just a weak view of God, although that is one of our problems, but we also have a real problem with viewing the lost as those who are truly blind and enslaved to sin. The depraved and sinful nature of our world is always going to mean that evangelism is extremely hard. Not only that, but many of us have a history of having shared the gospel and been rebuffed. We have baggage that needs careful working through.
God Shines Forth is light on illustrations and specific applications, and perhaps that is why it feels lacking in engagement with the reality in my heart and the hearts of brothers and sisters around me. If, as you consider your own witness to Christ, you feel you are labouring under the weight of guilt because of a small view of God then God Shines Forth is hefty antibiotics; but if you are looking for a book that engages with the fuller picture of our weaknesses in mission as the church then you might need to look elsewhere.
